OANDA appoints K Duker as new CEO, succeeds Michael Stumm

It seems several large brokers are undergoing massive HR reshuffling: GFT recently lost Ashraf Ebid, Muhammad Rasoul, Boris Schlossberg and Kathy Lien.

OANDA now announces a very surprising move by replacing Michael Stumm with K Duker with immediately effect. K Duker was used to be the Managing Director for OANDA’s Asia Pacific division until now and prior to that headed up Deutsche Bank’s eFX business in Asia Pacific. It seems he was very successful in Asia's division while the OANDA's Board felt new blood is required to help the company grow beyond current market position.

NEW YORK, May 22, 2012 — The Board of Directors of OANDA Corporation, a leading provider of foreign exchange services, has appointed K Duker as Chief Executive Officer of the corporation, effective immediately. Mr. Duker succeeds Michael Stumm, who will remain a member of the OANDA Board.

“As one of OANDA’s co-founders, Michael Stumm’s unique vision and technical expertise led to the creation of a company that literally changed the way retail customers approach Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term trading,” said OANDA Board member, Kittu Kolluri. “On behalf of the OANDA Board of Directors, I thank Michael for his considerable contributions to OANDA, and I’m pleased to confirm that Michael will continue to offer his insight as a member of the Board of Directors.”

For more than two decades, K Duker helped shape the foreign exchange industry. Prior to joining OANDA, Mr. Duker headed up Deutsche Bank’s eFX business in Asia Pacific and for the past four years, has served as Managing Director for OANDA’s Asia Pacific division.

“K Duker has demonstrated his commitment to customer service excellence as evidenced in his remarkable stewardship of OANDA’s Singapore office," said Mr. Kolluri. “During his tenure with OANDA, K has been a close advisor to the firm’s leadership, drawing upon his many years of incomparable industry experience.

“The Board is confident that K brings the leadership skills and deep financial knowledge to take on the responsibility of guiding OANDA in the next phase of the firm’s growth. The Board is unanimous in selecting K as the best possible leader to build on Michael Stumm’s incredible legacy and has every confidence that under K’s guidance, OANDA is well-positioned to expand its global presence as a preferred forex provider.”

“My passion is to build teams for success and I believe success can only be measured by how well we meet the needs of the client,” said Mr. Duker. “Michael Stumm used this same philosophy to develop OANDA into a leading forex provider and this approach will continue to be OANDA’s calling card. Be assured that OANDA will remain committed to providing best-in-class spreads together with the ultimate in customer service, and will strive to protect OANDA’s sterling reputation with regulators. OANDA’s one goal is to become the destination of choice for retail forex traders globally.”